Jimquisition: Single-Player Healthcare

[Amiibola]

There's one thing Jim says in the video that it's the absolute key.

A game doenn't need a GaaS system, or lootboxes, or a multiplayer mode to keep the player engaged, replayability doesn't come from there, it comes from the ability to make the player feel the need to come back and play the game again from the start. Now, there's different ways to achieve that but, is it possible? Of course it is! Sadly, that seems to be a forgotten art wich only a few studios still excel at.

I mean, people keep playing both original Dooms because of this, and Doom 2016 seems to hold the same value because they are pure and genuine fun, you can also have a game that allows for infinite paths such as Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim.

In my opinion, if big AAA companies keep insisting on single player games dying is not because they are dying (And Skyrim still feeling fresh and the massive popularity of Oddisey, Breath of the Wild and Doom's single player mode are the absolute proof) but because they have not the creativity, budget or manpower to pull it off.

I can't help butt seeing the AAA industry as more and more pathetic as time goes on.

 

[replicantUK]

Love Jim's videos. Will watch later but he most likely will be on point as usual.

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Hmm. Getting a bit bored with Jim's shtick and over-egging. We get it. Going on and on about the same topic loses impact. It becomes background noise.

(not saying he does not make valid points - he usually does. This is about his presentation)

 

[Deleted member 24550]

Does he mention that all of those great singleplayer games are Japanese?

Is it a persistent cultural difference, or is the Japanese game industry just lagging behind?

 

[RashBandicoot]

I feel the whole 'SP games are dying' is overblown. The video is on point when comparing it to how mobile games were considered the death of console gaming.

 

[RashBandicoot]

Does he mention that all of those great singleplayer games are Japanese?

Is it a persistent cultural difference, or is the Japanese game industry just lagging behind?

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I remember reading somewhere how in the Far East market Japanese gamers always tended to prefer SP games over multiplayer and how SK is the opposite but that could be just a generalization. I think we're seeing the trend in plenty of upcoming western games too: The Last of Us 2, God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2 (presuming its multiplayer is just tacked on), Detroit--all big budget AAA SP games.

 

[regenhuber]

Wolfenstein, BTW, is getting thrashed by Call of Duty. On PC. With some exceptions, if you want to make a successful AAA game, it should have popular multiplayer or be open world.

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Which souldn't surprise anybody. It's Call of Duty after all, plus this one also lets you shoot Nazis.
For an FPS not to have a MP mode is simply a bad value proposition, unless the SP is crazy good. From what I read and heard, Wolfenstein II isn't nearly as good as the first. Moreover, the Wolfenstein II campaign isn't even that much longer than the CoD WWII campaign.

I believe The New Order was an oulier. It did well back in early 2014 (IIRC) because there was serious lack of good games on the (then) Next Gen consoles. There was no Switch and the game launched in a less busy period. So it doesn't surprise me at all that Wolfenstein II isn't doing as well as I.

Don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with the "MP or Open world" part. But is the linear structure of Wolfenstein II and the lack of MP the reason for it's slow sales? Is it part of the "SP is dying" narrative? I don't think so. IMO a poor choice of launch date, a saturated market and bad marketing ("Punch Nazis" isn't a big selling point when CoD launches a week later and also has that) can easily explain the slow sales.

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Single player is far from dead, but if you think about it, most of the ones that sell truly well have tacked-on multiplayer aspects or are open world. Doom, Uncharted, Mario Odyssey, Zelda BOTW, the Mordor games... most of the big hitters are like this. Most of the games that followed a more linear formula and didn't offer some kind of multiplayer or social component (Dishonored, Prey, Wolf 2, etc.) didn't too hot sales-wise.

 

[Deleted member 24550]

I remember reading somewhere how in the Far East market Japanese gamers always tended to prefer SP games over multiplayer and how SK is the opposite but that could be just a generalization. I think we're seeing the trend in plenty of upcoming western games too: The Last of Us 2, God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2 (presuming its multiplayer is just tacked on), Detroit--all big budget AAA SP games.

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I would also say a Japanese company is footing the bill for these (except RDR2 which will no doubt have a sizable multiplayer GaaS component). But yeah I do think big singleplayer games will be here to stay... as (sometimes lossleading) platform exclusives. Thank jeebus for console rivalry.